Appointments

Booking Appointments

1. Online via the link at the top of this page. Please note you will need to register for this service. Read more here.

2. Call 01793 823307

8am to 6.30pm for routine or telephone appointments

Call between 8am – 10am & 12pm – 2pm for urgent health problems

3. In person during opening hours 8am to 6.30pm on weekdays

Routine / Telephone Appointments

Routine appointments are 10 minutes long and may only be available over several weeks away. This is due to the increasing demand for appointments facing the NHS and the difficulty we have in recruiting new GP’s.

Telephone appointments are 5 minutes long and should be booked with your usual GP or with a GP you have seen recently about an ongoing issue. Please ensure you only book a telephone appointment for a medical issue where you do not need a physical examination.

Routine and telephone appointments are to discuss one problem only. If you feel you need a longer consultation please discuss this when booking your appointment.

The Practice makes every effort to ensure our surgery appointments run on time, but on occasion you may need to wait a while to be seen or called on time. Please be patient if this occurs as this could be due to a medical emergency.

Medical Emergency

The Emergency Department is for critical or life-threatening situations where immediate medical attention is needed, such as breathing difficulties or chest pain, sudden severe pain or heavy loss of blood, for example.

In a medical emergency call 999 immediately and ask for the ambulance service.

Urgent Health Problems

For many urgent health problems it is better for you to contact other service providers rather than our practice. If you require an urgent appointment you can use the following services

1. Call NHS 111 You will be assessed, given advice and directed straight away to the local service that can help you best. Calls to NHS 111 are free from landlines and mobile phones.

2. Visit your local pharmacistPharmacists can give advice on lots or problems including simple infections, allergies & minor injuries. Most areas of Swindon have a local pharmacy who would be happy to give advice & provide you with any medication or dressings they think are appropriate for your problem.

3. Walk in service at Swindon Health Centre ,The nurse practitioners based in the walk in centre can deal with most urgent health problems in people of any age. You can walk in for an appointment at the following address:

1 Islington St SN1 2DQ Tel 01793 541655

Opening Hours: 8am – 6pm every day

4. Walk in service at Urgent Care Centre – 01793 646466The nurse practitioners based in the walk in centre can deal with most urgent health problems in people of any age. You can walk in for an appointment at the following address:

Urgent Care CentreGreat Western HospitalSN3 6BB

Opening Hours: 24/7 – 365 days a year

5. Minor Injury Unit Cirencester – 0300 421 6351If you have a minor injury you can attend the Minor Injury Unit in Cirencester without an appointment.

Cirencester HospitalGL7 1UY

Opening Hours: 8am to 11pm – 365 days a year

6. Minor Injury Unit Chippenham – 01249 456403If you have a minor injury you can attend the Minor Injury Unit in Chippenham without an appointment

Chippenham Community HospitalSN15 2AJ

Opening Hours: 7am to 11pm – 365 days a year

7. Children’s Clinic - 0300 111 0088They can deal with any urgent health problems in children aged 3 months up to 18 years of age. Please phone on the above number before attending.

8. Mental Health Problems – 01793 835787If you already have a mental health problem & see the mental health team, if you have a crisis you can contact them at any time.

9. Urgent Social Problems – 0800 0856 666This may include problems coping or caring for yourself at home if you are elderly or disabled. Help is available from Social Services. You can contact them directly on 0800 0856666 (Office Hours) or 01793 436699 (Other Times).

10. Urgent Dental Problems – 111If you have an urgent problem such as toothache or a dental abscess you should see a dentist not your GP.

If you have a regular dentist you should telephone them & arrange an urgent appointment. If they are closed there should be an answerphone message with the phone number of the local dentist covering emergencies. If not, the telephone number is 0300 111 5717. If you have trouble getting through phone NHS 111.

If you have no regular dentist you should telephone a Dental Access Clinic 01793 428580 (West Swindon Health Centre). The opening times are Monday to Friday 8.45 - 11.45am & 1.15 - 4.15pm. If the phone line closed you can ring 0300 111 5717 for emergencies involving dental pain, or NHS 111.

11. Call our practice - Between 8am – 10am & 12pm – 2pm for Urgent Health Problems Our receptionists will ask for details of your problem and you will be contacted by the practice in due course. One of our GPs will carry out an initial assessment, based on the details you provide and make a decision about the care you require, this is commonly known as “Triage” and there are many possible outcomes.

The Triage Doctor or their administrator will call you back. They may book an appointment either that day, or in the near future. Your appointment might be with our Minor Illness Nurse, Clinical Pharmacist, Practice Nurse, HCA or GP, alternatively your appointment may be at the Swindon Urgent Care Centres in Moredon. They may suggest a referral or further tests or resolve your issue with you via a telephone consultation.

OOH - At times when the practice is closed

At night, weekends & public holidays calls will be dealt with by the 'Swindon out of hours service'.

1. Call NHS 111 Your details will be taken by a receptionist & passed to someone who will triage your symptoms. They may give you advice, ask you to attend an emergency surgery, or occasionally if you are too unwell to leave home or are elderly & housebound a home visit by a paramedic, nurse or doctor will be arranged. If you are very unwell an emergency ambulance may be arranged to take you straight to hospital.

2. Walk in service at Carfax Health Centre – 01793 541655The nurse practitioners based in the walk in centre can deal with most urgent health problems in people of any age. You can walk in for an appointment at the following address:

Swindon NHS Health Centre – walk in

Islington St

Swindon

SN1 2DQ

Tel: 01793 541655

Opening Hours: 8am – 6pm every day

3. Walk in service Clover Centre at Great Western Hospital - 01793 646466 (Only use when Carfax is closed)The nurse practitioners based in the walk in centre can deal with most urgent health problems in people of any age. You can walk in for an appointment at the following address

A&E entrance at Great Western HospitalMarlborough Road Swindon SN3 6BB

Cancellations

If you cannot attend an appointment for any reason please inform us (by phone or text) as soon as possible in order for us to give the slot to someone else to avoid the appointment being wasted. In 2016 a staggering 2338 appointments totalling 54 days of practice opening hours (566 hours) were lost due to patient non-attendance.

If you have provided your mobile phone details, we will send you reminders by text about your upcoming appointment.

Home Visits

We are only able to visit patients who are housebound. If you are too ill to come to the surgery you should contact the surgery ideally BEFORE 10:00 a.m. to explain why you would like a home visit.

The Receptionist will ask for details of the problem and the reason why you are unable to visit the surgery. The Triage Doctor will then make an assessment on the best way to deal with your problem.

This may mean...

a visit by a Success Centre Doctor – from the urgent care centre – based at SEQOL.

or a visit in the evening when the Triage Doctor has finished their afternoon Triage session.

Sickness Certificates

You do not require a doctor's sickness certificate for any illness lasting seven days or less. Your employer may however require you to complete a self-certification form (SC2) which is available from your employer or on the HMRC website.

Evidence that you are sick

If you are sick for more than seven days, your employer can ask you to give them some form of medical evidence to support payment of SSP (statutory sick pay).

It is up to your employer to decide whether you are incapable of work. A medical certificate, now called a 'Statement of Fitness for Work’ (see below) from your doctor is strong evidence that you are sick and would normally be accepted, unless there is evidence to prove otherwise.

You could also provide evidence from someone who is not a medical practitioner, e.g. a dentist. Your employer will decide whether or not this evidence is acceptable. If your employer has any doubts, they may still ask for a medical certificate from your GP.

Statement of Fitness for Work - ’Fit Note'

The 'fit note' was introduced on 6 April 2010. With your employer's support, the note will help you return to work sooner by providing more information about the effects of your illness or injury.